text: * Classed as a restricted weapon. 
  ** A permit is required to obtain or carry pepper spray. 
  ** Front-line police officers have routinely carried pepper spray since 1997. New Zealand Prison Service made OC spray available for use in approved situations in 2013. 
  ** New Zealand Defence Force Military Police are permitted to carry OC spray under a special agreement due to the nature of their duties.
  ** The Scoville rating of these sprays are 500,000 (sabre MK9 HVS unit) and 2,000,000 (Sabre, cell buster fog delivery). This was as a result of excessive staff assaults and a two-year trial in ten prisons throughout the country.